CARAPAZ CLIMBS TO HISTORIC GIRO WIN

Richard Carapaz climbed to the first Grand Tour stage victory by an Ecuadorian in torrential rain and Giro d'Italia leader Simon Yates maintained his advantage on Saturday.

Movistar rider Carapaz produced a powerful final push inside the last kilometre of stage eight to claim a historic win in Montevergine di Mercogliano.

Koen Bouwman attempted to go solo on a demanding last ascent, but Carapaz reeled him in and there was no catching the 24-year-old after his decisive attack.

Davide Formolo and Thibaut Pinot finished second and third respectively, while Yates passed another test to retain the maglia rosa.

It is as you were at the top of the GC standings, with Mitchelton-Scott rider Yates still holding a 16-second lead over defending champion Tom Dumoulin and team-mate Esteban Chaves a further 10 seconds back, with Pinot making up ground to sit fourth.

Chris Froome remains a minute and 10 seconds off the pace, but dropped to ninth place behind stage winner Carapaz and it could have been worse after he took another tumble.

Froome, attempting to pull off a clean sweep of Grand Tour triumphs, slipped off at low speed late in the 209km ride from Praia a Mare but finished in the peloton after his team-mates held him back into the group.

A seven-man breakaway made a move early in the day following a fast start, but they were unable to see it through and Carapaz left plenty in the tank to win it as Bouwman ran out of steam.

FROOME DOWN AGAIN

Froome took a fall in a recon of stage one and the four-time Grand Tour winner was down again on a slick surface late in the stage.

The Brit slipped at a hairpin and appeared to land heavily on his right thigh.

Froome was left with a bloodied knee, but picked himself up to rejoin the GC contenders with assistance from Team Sky trio David de la Cruz, Kenny Elissonde and Wout Poels.

The 32-year-old's wheels went from under him in difficult conditions on a tight right-handed corner, but he suffered no damage in the GC battle.

The riders will be ready to put their feet up for a rest day on Monday after tackling a 224km stage from Pesco Sannita to Gran Sasso d'Italia on Sunday, with a final climb taking up nearly a quarter of the route and a steep last 4km sorting the men from the boys.